Front Cover: Chemoenzymatic Synthesis of Triazololactams Structurally Related to Pancratistatin (Eur. J. Org. Chem. 27/2017). Issue 27 (4th July 2017) - de la Sovera, Victoria
Abstract : The cover picture shows amaryllidaceae alkaloids, which are well‐known because of their toxicity and potential medical use. Among them, the narciclasine group and particularly fully oxygenated pancratistatin are promising anticancer agents but the complexity of the molecular structure undermines the development of drugs. Efficient synthetic approaches developed by the Hudlicky group during the last 25 years allowed us to prepare drug‐like molecules that structurally resemble alkaloids with the pancratistatin skeleton by enzymatic catalysis and click chemistry. The original alkaloids and their synthetic analogues are depicted over a Narcissus flower blooming in The Hague last March. Details are discussed in the Communication by D. Gonzalez et al. on page 3912 ff (https://doi.org/10.1002/ejoc.201700334 ).